Titanic: A Mergana Lovestory
by missdollophead
Summary: The colour of her blue irises changed to orange. As if she were in trance, she stepped towards the steel railing and made it break like it was a small twig. It looked like she was floating over the deck, and Merlin felt his heartbeat raise like that of a hummingbird. When the sleep-walking girl reached the edge of the ship, she spread her arms and let herself fall in the dark.
1. Prologue

_**Titanic**_

**A Mergana Lovestory**

* * *

**_Introduction_**

_This story wouldn't exist without Maddi (who's named FireflyFanatic3 on youtube), who asked someone to write a story about Merlin and Morgana on the Titanic. I'm sure others might have had the same idea – but I haven't read any fanfictions about this yet and I'm not planning to, to keep my own story original._

_I hope you'll enjoy it and feedback is always much appreciated. :)_

_Let the journey begin – xoxo Nynke_

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_**Trailer**_

_If you want to get a bit of an idea what the story will be about, you can type the youtube address and add /watch?v=b3e23-MSzuA behind it._

_Enjoy watching and/or reading! :) _

* * *

_**Prologue**_

Darkness overflowed the gigantic ship, which was also known as the unsinkable. The boy spread his fingers and watched the stars through the openings as he was laying on a bench. His mind kept drifting off, kept displaying specific images from that night. The little gestures she made to him when she was getting bored of someone's dreadful speech. The secret looks she gave him – how proud she looked when he was answering a question about how he came to her rescue. The dress she wore was printed in his memory – a short, black dress with paillettes on the shoulders. On her arms shone large, golden bracelets, that made a clinging sound when she took a sip of her goblet filled with wine, whereupon she left a red print of her lipstick. Morgana Pendragon was the most elegant, charming lady he'd ever had the honour to meet. She was special, he had knew that from the start.

The waves that crashed into the flanks of the boat suddenly became a lot more rough. The warlock pushed himself up by the surprise it caused, and saw a man in black clothes and brown cloak standing on the deck. His face was old – but wise, Merlin noticed. The small amount of white hair he had left, moved in the direction of the cold, spring air.

''What – how?'' he asked, because at this time hardly no one came to the deck anymore. And this man had just appeared here without causing sounds, and Merlin normally always noticed someone's footsteps. ''Who–?''

''Don't be afraid,'' the man spoke, ''Merlin.''

The boy held his breath, and gasped out the words: ''How do you know who I am?''

''Or is Emrys the name you prefer?''

This had a shocking effect on Merlin – he remained silent, tongue-tied by the stranger. Was he a sorcerer as well?

''I'm Taliesin,'' the man told him, ''and there's a reason you and I meet at this moment in time.''

Merlin only listened as he stood up from the bench and walked towards the man. He tried to remember if he'd seen him before, but no memories were attached to the face. There were only 2227 people on board of the ship, after all.

''You're in love with the lady Morgana. A lovely young lady, if I say it myself.'' He smiled, but the frown in his forehead showed something was bothering him.

''Yes... yes, she is,'' Merlin admitted. His eyes shifted to Taliesins right hand, that reached in a well-hidden pocket under his cloak. ''What are you doing?'' he asked. To be honest, he thought a knife could come out of that pocket any second. If so, Merlin was ready to use his magic. He'd been reading hundreds of books and found some pretty effective spells when it came to disarming people.

In the hand palm of the old man, however, laid a necklace. The string of the necklace was tessellated with little, silver diamonds. It was beautiful – but the crystal in the middle of it was breathtaking. It had a deep, blue colour and the shape of a heart.

''I'm giving you a helping hand,'' Taliesin explained. ''Here, take this.'' He reached out his hand to Merlin, who protested: ''I can't afford to buy Morgana that necklace.'' Even so, he couldn't resist the temptation to pick it up and give it another look.

''It's not meant for her,'' was the reaction he got after a quick examination of the blue crystal.

''What...'' Merlin muttered absently, ''do you expect _me_ to wear this jewel?'' Taliesin didn't look drunk – but you never knew. And Merlin considered himself to be an ordinary boy – what could _he_ do with the necklace when he wasn't allowed to give it to Morgana? And well, it was a fact that he couldn't afford it anyway.

Taliesins eyes narrowed as he answered in a serious tone: ''A jewel? It's more than a jewel. This blue crystal comes from the Crystal Cave.''

Merlins attention was fully back at that point, for he had read something about the Crystal Cave in one of his books about the Old Religion. He couldn't quite remember what it had said though...

''The crystal contains futures that are not yet born,'' Taliesin continued. ''The future is hidden to all but a very few, Emrys. You are one such person.''

''What... what are you saying?'' Merlin whispered. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Then, all the sudden, hissing sounds pierced through his head as he stroked over the crystal with his thumb. It was like something was trying to escape – and then he saw it. Images, flashes of a kiss, a clock that displayed 23:40 on the dial, faces that made angry expressions... some things were blurred and showed so quickly he couldn't see it. The images flashed through his head and made him dizzy. Tears of inexplicability welled up in his eyes when there was one, long image from a boat – a gigantic, unsinkable boat that was definitely going under the water surface. He dropped the necklace in shock – but the crystal was still intact and the fall didn't stop the images and the noisy sounds were boring through his mind more than ever.

''What is this?'' Merlin cried out, with hands covering his ears. ''What is this?!'' He looked up, but Taliesin had disappeared. Bewildered, he looked around him. Again. And again. But the deck was as empty as before their encounter.

Then, a voice spoke in his head – the same voice as Taliesins, Merlin recognised – the following words: ''Use what you've seen for good, Emrys. Use what you've seen for good.'' After that, the voice faded.


	2. The Graveyard

_**Chapter 1**_

_Merlin, do you hear me?_

Dead.

_Merlin, please respond._

Dead_, Merlin. Your father is dead._

* * *

**Present day, April 11****th****, 1912.**

The black-haired, young man replaced the withered daisies for fresh, blood-red roses. They were the only things in the environment that were fully alive, if you left him out. He stood there for a while, with chattering teeth from the cold. It was begin April, but it felt like a snowy winter day in December.

He wiped some dust and dead leaves from the marble grave stone and repeated the words, which he knew by heart, in his head once again:

''_Here lies Balinor Pendragon. Once a prince, always a prince._

_March 2__nd__ 1864 – October 14__th__ 1903.''_

The day of his father's death had been printed in his memory. He'd often relive the moment in his dreams where his mother had shaken his father roughly, and she was crying, begging him to wake up: but only Merlin did – bathing in sweat.

Merlin had been fourteen at the time. He hadn't cried, because he'd understood why his father had done what he'd done. It was a complicated story. Very, very complicated.

_There_ _had_ been a time of peace. Future king Uther and his little brother Balinor would play hide and seek in the enormous garden full of freshly mown grass and Balinor would tackle Uther with a quick whisper and win every round.

The two grew up together. As brothers they'd never looked alike (Uther being blonde and muscled, Balinor black-haired and more compact), neither did they ever agree about anything. Uther had always been fascinated and slightly jealous when his brother's eyes turned into an unusual colour for a split second and made a caterpillar turn into a butterfly. ''Why can't I do that?'' he asked. Then Balinor would shrug his shoulders and mutter: ''I don't know…''

''Nor father, nor mother is able to do what you do, but they don't seem to care. They're even _proud_ of you.'' Uther raised one eyebrow, waiting for a hundred-page explanation that he would never get.

''It was given to me. Magic. It's a gift,'' was the answer.

Uther, the oldest of the two, but not as grown-up as Balinor when it came to the mind, claimed he was going to put it on his Christmas list.

Time went by and after both of them had gotten enough of the little pleasures now and then, they began to focus more on long-term relationships. Their father, King of Great-Britain, did Balinor a proposal to marry a young princess called Anne-Marie, but he refused. Uther did marry his Father's choice – Anne-Marie's sister Ygraine – and within a few years he would be crowned King and she his Queen.

Prince Balinor had never cared much for titles. He'd rather be spoken of as a wizard than as a prince. He chose another path, a path that crossed with another human being. He fell in love with her kind heart and the way she simply didn't care about his 'label'. Balinor knew Hunith was the woman he wanted to spend his life with from the moment she'd laid her blue eyes on him. He was relieved when father told him he didn't condemn the relationship. Uther was happy for him as well – at first. The older brother had always wanted to be in the spotlights and his wish was fulfilled when the King died at a fairly young age. But everywhere King Uther went from then on, camera's followed him – whereas Balinor could walk to the moon and back and no one would give a damn about it. The two brothers lost touch for a few years, but as soon as Hunith gave birth to a son, Prince Emrys Alexander Louis Pendragon, whose light blue eyes brightened Balinor's days from morning to midnight, Uther often came to visit them with his wife, Queen Ygraine. The situation was odd – Uther had avoided his little brother after he had become King, but now there was a son in the family, and he would cuddle little Emrys and kiss Hunith on the cheek, exclaiming how happy he was to see them again. Although, on one summer afternoon, things were different. He took Balinor apart and began to talk.

''It's been bothering me for a long time now, little brother.''

''What is?'' it was bounced back.

Uther made a gesture with his head, and thus made Balinor look across the garden at Uther's wife Ygraine. ''No matter how we try... I'm... I'm afraid Ygraine is infertile.'' He whispered the last word and his voice cracked.

Balinor shook his head and placed a comforting hand on Uther's shoulder. ''She can't be. You have a beautiful daughter, Morgan. She's healthy, she's happy, and she is yours.''

Uther hesitated before he said: ''That is different.''

''Do you think something has happened after Morgan's birth?'' Balinor frowned, twisting his lips a little.

His brother closed his eyes when he more or less confessed: ''I said... Morgan is different.''

''What are you saying? Are you saying...''

''She isn't ours.'' There. The naked truth.

Balinor's hand fell off Uther's shoulder in shock. How could his brother have kept such a secret from him?

Morgan was an exquisite young girl of two years old at the time. Her deep brown hair fell in curls around her small face with its dark, expressive eyebrows. She knew all the colours that existed and even created her own with the little paint tubes that she'd found in Buckingham Palace. All the letters the alphabet contained were familiar to her, as well as the words that were formed with these letters. Her ability of speaking was formidable, and she surprised Uther and Ygraine with that every day. But still, she was no child of theirs. Morgan was an orphan. Her father, Uther's grandnephew George Howard, and her mother Catherina died during a flight in a hot air balloon. The balloon went down way too fast and couldn't be stopped, its air-speed way too high. It crashed and burned and there were no survivors, except for a little girl who was playing in a garden somewhere far far away from the terrible accident. Since Catherina and George lived in a remote place somewhere in Scotland, no-one barely knew them, and since Ygraine never really went out because she was afraid of the camera's, it had been easier than Uther had thought to pretend the child was theirs. All Kings and Queens deserved a little privacy – and Uther had no problems with lying. It would set the country, that expected a male heir, a bit at ease. Rumours about Ygraine being a barren wife had already been spreading then. Problem was, after hearing them so often, Uther could no longer deny them now. Maybe they were true.

Balinor listened to Uther's explanation carefully, not missing a single detail. His conclusion wasn't the one Uther had hoped for: ''You've been bloody stupid, Uther! What I'd like to know is what in the name of God you thought you were doing?'' He spat out the words, angry so much had been hidden from him the last few years.

''I thought I was doing the right thing,'' Uther answered without a hint of emotion. ''But then you wouldn't understand. You have no idea what it's like to be King. I have a duty to this country, to my people.''

''Do you have any idea how the people will respond when they find out your blood doesn't flow through Morgan's veins?''

''They won't. I'm telling you this now, but you have to take this secret to the grave.''

Balinor took a few angry steps, wanting to stop this conversation immediately. But Uther wasn't done yet. ''Don't you walk away, brother!''

''What do you want from me? Is Emrys the reason you suddenly think I'm interesting enough to talk to again? You leave him out of this, d'you understand?! He's done nothing to you!''

Uther looked fondly at the little, innocent boy who was pulling at Morgan's curls, and admitted without shame: ''I'm jealous. I've always been jealous of you, Balinor, but that doesn't mean I think you don't deserve what you have. I just wish I had the same.''

''You should have told father you didn't want to marry Ygraine.''

''I've never regretted accepting father's proposal. I've grown to love her, you see. But now I'm scared she can't receive, and it's eating me from the inside, Balinor. What am I to do?''

Balinor sighed, rubbed his temples with his fingers and closed his eyes, thinking. ''There is,'' he said after a while, ''only one way I know of.''

''Tell me.''

''It's _magic_,'' he answered in a low voice.


	3. Expecting

_**Chapter 2**_

* * *

But with that, not everything was explained. In a land where magic reigned freely, Uther had assumed it would be easy to find a sorcerer willing to find a cure for his barren wife – but on the contrary – it proved to be very hard. Balinor had whispered the word ''magic'', had hesitated to tell his older brother, because every sorcerer knew the consequences of this particular case. ''To create a life, a life must be taken'', had thus stood on Nimueh Patterson's contract in small, delicate handwriting, but Uther was practically glowing with joy when he thought of closing his arms around a small baby boy, who was to complete his family and secure the kingdom. That was why he'd signed the contract right away, without really looking at it or reading the small letters. That, right there, would prove to be the most fatal decision he had ever made. A decision that would brutally change the kingdom and change an awful lot of lives, and even worse: a decision that would cost too many people their lives – including Balinor Pendragon's.

A few weeks after meeting the eccentric witch Nimueh, whom Uther had rewarded with a thousand pounds, he doubled this amount of money, naming it a 'bonus'. If anyone had seen him exchange this large amount of money, they would've claimed him mad. One didn't simply buy himself a child of the wished gender – it was against nature. But for this Mad King it had been a special day. In her nightgown, his lovely blond wife Ygraine had taken his hand to hold and smiled, teary-eyed and not at all aware of what was happening around her, simply calling it a wonder because she didn't know better: ''I'm expecting, darling.'' The words Uther had been waiting for five years to hear. Ygraine's voice had been muffled by her tears – as was Uther's when he answered: ''Thank god, thank god.'' He'd laid in bed with his Queen, but his mind was somewhere else. He was thanking Nimueh in his thoughts, blessing her, kissing her, making love to her – that was how overwhelmed by joy and gratefulness he was. And when he'd figured those thoughts about Nimueh were unhealthy – his wife was laying beside him, for God's sake and she needed him – he'd shaken his head. Writing Nimueh a letter and two thousand pounds would do, even though a _thank you_ wasn't simply enough to express his feelings.

A few days later he was planning on bringing the news to the Miller Mansion, which lay hidden in a forest and therefore, was surrounded by large conifers. Summer made its way for fall, and rain was pouring down. Uther put the cap of his warm coat on as soon as he got out of the car and he made his way through the big garden. It made him think of the garden he and Balinor had so often played in when they'd been young. He thought of Balinors butterflies, how astonished he was every time Balinor created something unexplainable. Uther knew this was possible, but he could've never dreamt that somebody could help him to a son with a murmur and a change of eye colour. That was truly astonishing.

Uther reached the heavy wooden door of the mansion, knocked on it, waited, heard some noise, waited – and when it was opened by Hunith with a shy little Emrys clinging onto her legs, he smiled. ''Hunith, it's been a while! How I missed you!''

''You look good, your majesty.'' She teased him, still unimpressed by titles and her own title of princess as well. She didn't feel like a princess, she didn't feel special. She was just Hunith. When she and Balinor got married, the newspapers were too busy focussing on Uther's business trip to America, where he'd discussed the Civil Rights Act that included the use of magic in public. And King Uther was all Great-Britain cared about. Nobody knew exactly who Hunith was, and this pleased her. She could do and leave, walk and talk, smile and wave wherever, however and whenever she wanted. Oh, the King was visiting them? No need to worry about dirty dishes. He was also just a human. Someone who answered only seconds after she gave him a compliment about his appearance: ''I _feel_ good, thank you. Say 'hi' to uncle Uther, Em.'' His attention was drawn towards the child. A splendid child, really. Was already able to walk, more or less, when he was a few months old, and his hair, his black thick hair wouldn't stop growing. The same counted for his small, thin fingers and for his ears. Jokes were often made about how good his hearing must be. Emrys' hands loosened their tight grip on Hunith's leg and he reached out to Uther, who lifted Emrys up and let him sit on both arms. That was when Balinor came around the corner and greeted him.

''I'm good,'' responded Uther, ''thank you. More than good, actually! Tell me how you've been!''

''I've been doing my shifts at the hospital, the last one ended a few hours ago. So forgive me for my tiredness.''

Uther nodded while Balinor continued: ''This poor girl was suffering from cholera, just like many others. I've been trying to find a healing spell for it for what seems like forever.'' He sighed, thinking back of all those sleepless nights filled with research. Then he looked up through his eyelashes with glittering eyes. ''And I did it, Uther! I've come up with a spell that healed her successfully!''

Hunith strolled over to Balinor and kissed him on the nose. ''And how proud we all are,'' she murmured lovingly. ''Come, come, Uther,'' she gestured then, ''let's sit.''

After they had filled their mouths with tea and biscuits, Emrys had managed to climb onto a chair and looked through the window, pointing towards the woods with his finger. The air, that was clear now, attracted Hunith and Balinor both to take a little walk, just the way their smart little boy had intended. Uther agreed with this plan. The family put on their coats and scarves, and Hunith tried to put Emrys in his baby wagon, which made him cry. Once the promise was made that he could walk with them, the tears stopped. As soon as Emrys saw the pine cones that had fallen of the conifers, he made it his job to collect them all. Now that they had stopped, Uther seized the opportunity to take his brother apart and tell him why he'd come. With Hunith and Emrys too busy collecting cones, it was easy for Uther to invite Balinor to take a little walk with him. And so they walked in silence, until the ''I have to tell you something,'' was said.

Balinor slowed his pace and turned his head towards Uther. ''I knew. I knew you _only_ came to tell me something.''

''O, don't spoil the fun, brother, I always enjoy seeing your son.''

''But soon you'll have your own and will never come round again, if I'm right about your reason for visiting us.''

''Please, what nonsense is this?'' Uther said with a collected voice. ''Of course I'll keep visiting you. And yes, Ygraine is pregnant.''

''So is what I'm thinking true? You used magic?'' Balinor raised one eyebrow, sceptical about Uther's decision.

The other one threw his arms in the air, and yelled. There was no trace of his collected voice left, the only thing audiable was his disbelief. ''Jezus Christ, can't you be happy for me this _once_?! You're the one who suggested it, anyway, or did you forget?''

Balinor made a face, thinking back of that one summer afternoon. ''I didn't say you should get through with it. You can't get a son out of nowhere. To create a new life, a life must be taken. The balance of the nature must be restored somehow. Do you realise now, what you have done?'' He closed his eyes, like he often did when he had worries or doubts, and told himself to calm down, which proved to be hard when the answer he got was: ''I cannot see a problem in that. There are enough people who are dying from cholera in this monarchy. Their days are numbered.''

''How can you say such a thing!'' Balinor spat out, ''that is what I call cruelty. I know you live a careless life, and I might say this counts for myself as well when it comes to the money, but those people out there are _real_ people. They have lives, like you and me. And you know how hard I fight to keep them alive, God damn it!''

Uther rolled his eyes, the Mad King he was. He only strived for his own good, even though he claimed differently. ''And what will happen to Great-Britain without a true heir? I find it painful to believe you can't see the positive side of my decision.''

Because of that response Balinor wanted to launch himself at Uther. He didn't. It took him all his power to contain his self-control. He did take his brother by the wrist, and his lips formed a rigid line under his nose. Five seconds long he stared into Uther's eyes, and then whispered: ''Who performed the spell?''

''Nimueh Patterson. How do you mean?''

Balinor abruptly let go of Uther's wristed and exclaimed: ''No. No!''

Uther answered with a sneering laugh: ''Nimueh doesn't hurt a fly, I've spoken to her. We have an arrangement, and it has worked perfectly so far. Tell me, little one, why are you being this way? Every spell is the same, you could've done it too!''

''But I didn't, and that's the thing! But you know what,'' the youngest of the two hissed, ''you may as well have your nine months of happiness, if you don't forget to pray to all the Gods Nimueh hasn't got something up her sleeve.''

''I've had enough of this. You're supposed to support me, that's what family is for. You clearly don't wish me any happiness at all! All I came here for was to tell you this splendid news and whatever you've just said... I won't let it change my mood. Goodbye, Balinor, we'll be in touch...''

''...or not.'' It was whispered by Balinor after Uther had walked away without as much as a single glance backwards. It was impossible for Balinor to enjoy the rest of the day, with this nauseous feeling that was settling in his stomach.

* * *

_Be patient with me everyone :) We're slowly getting to the start of Merlin's journey. This history is very important for the rest of the story. So I hope it's not boring or anything! Let me know your thoughts about this chapter :D I'll start another right now!_


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